Warren Liburt, former Huntington resident, attorney, dies at age 95

Warren Liburt had many talents, but he was a quick study at seeing and understanding the entirety of a human being, his family said.

"My father was naturally gifted at understanding people and why they do what they do," said Liburt's daughter Ellen Liburt of upstate Hudson "You could go to him with any situation and he would deliver a detailed analysis on what you should do based on the questions at hand. That was his most obvious quality: his ability to observe and analyze."

The former Huntington resident died of natural causes on March 26, in Camden, Maine. He was 95.

Warren Alan Liburt was born on March 8, 1930, in, Michigan. His family then moved to Huntington, where Liburt would graduate from Huntington High School. He earned a bachelor's degree from Columbia University in 1950, followed by a Juris Doctor degree from Columbia University Law School in 1953. He then received a direct two-year commission to the Army's Judge Advocate General Corps and served until 1955.

After his time in the Army, Liburt served as a law assistant to Suffolk County Court judges from 1956 to 1959 before opening a private practice in Huntington. He also was involved in Rotary International, as well as the Huntington Township Young Republican Club, of which he served as president in 1962.

"He had a continuing fascination with the motivations, goals and stratagems of politicians and the people around them," said Liburt's son, Joe Liburt, of San Francisco, of his father's interest in politics. "He wanted to know what was going on and why people were doing what they were doing."

Liburt married his first wife, Susan Cahn, in 1962. The marriage resulted in two children: son Joe and daughter Ellen. The marriage ended in a divorce in 1969.

In 1985, Liburt married his second wife, Ann Tomkins Liburt, whom he met after moving to Maine in 1981.

"He longed for the peace and solitude that a place like Maine can give," said Ellen of her father, who lived with his wife in a small house at the end of a rugged dirt driveway. "He loved spending time on the water and at Pemaquid Point Lighthouse."

With a desire to rebuild himself, Liburt started over as a clerk-typist in the Maine state government system. He then elevated his position to writing policy for the Division of Support Enforcement and Recovery and holding hearings for the Department of Health and Human Services. Liburt then served as the social services program manager for the Division of Support Enforcement and Recovery, a position close to his heart as he was deeply sympathetic to mistreated children.

"I think he would want the people he cared about to know that he cared about them and he did the best he was capable of for them," Joe said of his father's legacy.

According to his daughter, Liburt always wanted to be a writer, but became a published author later in life, after his retirement in 2019 under the pen name William F.F. Young. His books were inspired by Long Island in the 1940s to 1960s, a place that both "haunted and shaped him," according to his daughter.

"Writing was his lifelong ambition. He produced seven books in seven years starting when he was 89," Ellen said. "Someone who has aspirations to write, especially at that age, speaks to me of his unfathomable determination that his drive to do it was just that strong and never wavered."

Liburt enjoyed playing tennis, writing, reading (he had a particular penchant for Charles Dickens, Mark Twain and Jane Austen), listening to Mozart, watching old movies and caring for his beloved cats.

In addition to his children, Warren is survived by his wife, Ann; brother, Burke Liburt; and his cats, Butternut and Arlo. Liburt will be buried in Veterans Cemetery in Augusta, Maine, on Aug. 5.